"Uncle Wang, please come in and sit inside. You must be freezing from driving the cart in such a snowy day." Old Wang is the one who is in charge of the livestock in Liushugou. He is the one who does most of the work that requires cattle in the team.
When Jiang Youtao just got off the train, it was Old Wang who picked them up.
Old Wang was a widower. According to villagers, the Japanese invaders were rampant here that year. On that day, his wife and their children returned to her parents' home to attend a funeral. Before they even reached her parents' home, they were killed by the Japanese invaders.
Old Wang had some matters to attend to at home at the time and was unable to go with them. After his wife and child died, he felt extremely guilty and never remarried in his life.
He was kind-hearted. Most of the cow dung that Manqiu had piled in front of the cave were provided by him. Sometimes when he had something delicious, he would give Manqiu a portion when he saw her.
Old Wang drove the ox cart into the yard.
He was worried that Manqiu was being bullied by Jiang Youtao and the others, so he had to come and take a look to feel at ease.
Manqiu was still sleeping in the room. Jiang Youtao thought it was inappropriate to bring Old Wang in, so she took her to the kitchen. She followed the practices of the southwest region in her previous life and dug a fire pit in the middle of the room. Every day before going to bed, she would bury some charcoal in it. Now she would remove the ashes and put firewood in it, and it would burn in a moment.
Jiang Youtao poured a cup of hot water for Old Wang. Old Wang warmed himself by the fire and drank the hot water. He felt that the half of his body that had been numb from the cold was now refreshed.
When Xu Manqiu heard the conversation between Jiang Youtao and Old Wang, she quickly got up from the bed. She wore the warm clothes that Jiang Youtao had secretly given her inside, and the thin down jacket that Gu Nianwei had secretly given her outside, and then put on a cotton jacket and went out.
"Sister Taotao, I heard Uncle Wang's voice. Is he here?" Xu Manyu's voice came in before she arrived.
When Old Wang heard Xu Manqiu's powerful voice, he felt relieved. When he saw Xu Manqiu wearing new clothes, he felt relieved again.
Even the richest family in their village didn't make a new cotton-padded jacket for their granddaughter. The fact that Jiang Zhiqing and Gu Zhiqing could make a new cotton-padded jacket for Xu Manqiu showed that they really treated Manqiu as their own family.
"I come here. The team needs to distribute food. I'm here to take you back." Old Wang laughed.
Gu Nianwei also got up.
Jiang Youtao was busy cooking, but Old Wang kept saying no, he came only after eating.
Xu Manqiu said, "Uncle Wang, your cooking skills are so good that you can make steamed buns and pancakes harder than bricks. How can we bear to eat cold pancakes and cold steamed buns in such a cold weather? You should eat something here. The dumpling soup made by my sister Taotao is delicious."
Old Wang only agreed after seeing Xu Manqiu speak.
Jiang Youtao made more than a bowl of noodles and was about to eat when Fu Shaohua arrived.
He was carrying a bag of mutton. "Yesterday I went to Helegou to deliver a letter, and I happened to see someone slaughtering sheep, so I bought some mutton. But you know where I live, we can't cook, so I thought of sending it over to share with you."
Mutton. Jiang Youtao has never eaten it even after traveling through time for so long.
She took a look at the bag that Fu Shaohua brought. There were two or three pieces of mutton weighing about three pounds, with fat and lean meat. In addition, there was a large sheep spine.
The lamb spine is a good thing, known as lamb ribs. It tastes best when used in hot pot after being marinated!
"The village is going to distribute food, so we plan to go back. How about we eat in two days?"
It was snowing so heavily that it was fine for Fu Shaohua to stay in the dormitory. He mainly wanted to stay with Jiang Youtao for a while longer and deepen their feelings for each other.
He didn't spend much money on the mutton, so he didn't feel bad sharing it with others. So he said, "That's perfect. I haven't seen Wang Shanxi for a long time. I can chat with him today. If it snows heavily after dinner, I'll squeeze in with him."
Fu Shaohua felt that given his relationship with Wang Shanxi, Wang Shanxi would not refuse if he wanted to stay for a night.
Fu Shaohua said so, and Jiang Youtao did not object. Fu Shaohua took two pieces of mutton from the bag and put them into the big vat in the yard.
"Let's take the lamb ribs and that piece of meat and eat them. Put these two pieces aside and fry them slowly."
Fu Shaohua has come to Jiang Youtao's place quite often during this period, and he is familiar with all the furnishings in the house and yard.
The weather in the north is cold in winter, and the outside is like a natural refrigerator. Freezing meat and tofu is very effective.
The only thing he was afraid of was someone coming in to steal, so Fu Shaohua found several sacks and piled them next to the big vat, hiding the vat perfectly.
After doing all this, the only mutton left in the bag was the lamb spine and a piece of mutton weighing about two pounds.
When he entered the house, Jiang Youtao served him a bowl of dumpling soup and asked, "It snowed so heavily yesterday, why did you go to the countryside?"
"There's a letter sent back from the army, and I thought I'd deliver it quickly to save people from waiting anxiously." Someone in Fu Shaohua's family is a soldier, and he especially understands the feeling of his wife and children looking forward to a letter from their father who is far away in the army.
Putting himself in other people's shoes, since the snow wasn't particularly heavy, he went.
Jiang Youtao said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions.
The dumpling soup she cooked was made with tomato sauce, eggs, and some dried green vegetables, with a little bit of salt, MSG, and pepper. A bowl of it in winter was delicious and comforting.
Fu Shaohua did not leave after dinner. He stayed in the courtyard and talked with Old Wang. With him around, Old Wang was not so reserved anymore.
In the afternoon, the snow stopped and the sun came out, casting a faint golden light on the snow.
They arrived at the commune government, where the commune leaders had just arrived for work.
When Director Wang of the Women's Federation saw Xu Manqiu coming, she hurriedly called her into the office and asked about her life during that time.
They heard that she was studying, and that she got along very well with the educated youth. She now lives in the commune, and helps to provide care to the two educated youth who lead her to the best of her ability.
Director Wang and other women's federation officials were very happy for her. Director Wang took out all the candies for her grandson and gave them to Xu Manqiu: "We have received care from others, so we should repay them. Study hard, read books well, and ask questions in time if there is anything you don't understand. Tell us if you are missing anything."
One of the cadres directly handed her a leather notebook: "This is the reward I received from my unit this year. Now I am passing it on to you. Study hard, Xiao Manqiu."
Xu Manqiu opened the notebook and the first page recorded the award given by the Yangping County Women's Federation to Liu Fang of Zaoxiang Commune in 1973.
Xu Manqiu held the notebook and nodded to them: "Thank you, Secretary Liu."
Xu Manqiu feels that there are many bad people in this world, but there are also many good people.
She couldn't doubt all the good people in the world just because of those bad guys.
Liu Fang touched her head.
The bus stopped at the entrance of the commune, and about twenty young men and women with bags and luggage and red flowers on their chests got off. This was the second batch of educated youth this year.
There were a total of four educated youth assigned to Zaoxiang Commune, two men and two women, and the distribution was very even.
The weather was too cold and no one exchanged pleasantries. Old Wang was driving the ox cart, but he was different from when he came. Now he was holding an infusion bottle from the hospital in his arms. It was filled with hot water and he felt warm in his arms.
Several educated youth were shivering with cold.
Jiang Youtao and her friends caught up with their ox cart on bicycles from behind, and Jiang Youtao carried Xu Manqiu and followed their speed.
"Uncle Wang, when we get to the educated youth camp, don't leave. Have dinner with us tonight."
Old Wang nodded happily, and Jiang Youtao stepped away.
A few new educated youths whose lips turned white from the cold in the truck bed saw this and asked Old Wang: " Uncle, are they also educated youths?"
"The two girls riding the bike in front are, but they are now teaching at the township middle school. The girl sitting on the bike is from our village, and she is also living in the educated youth center. As for the man riding the bike, he is the township postman, and he should be Xiao Jiang's educated youth partner."
Because he felt well both physically and mentally, Old Wang talked more.
The two female educated youth in the car didn't say a word except that their expressions moved when they heard him say that the two female educated youth were teaching in the township commune middle school.
However, there were two male educated youth who chatted with Old Wang all the way.
When they arrived at the Youth League Home, Jiang Youtao and her friends were already making a fire and stewing bones. Li Yunying and others were also talking in Jiang Youtao's room.
They came out only when they heard the sound of cowbells.
Old Wang was going to put the ox cart back into the cowshed, so he drove the cart away first.
Several new educated youth stood in the yard. Wang Shanxi introduced himself to them as he did before. Li Yunying wanted to lead the two new educated youth into the dormitory, but the two new female educated youth did not move.
"Why do we have to live in the same dormitory with you? They are all teachers in the commune and don't live here. Can't we live in their houses?"
The two female educated youth came from different places. The one who was speaking was called Lv Yunan, from Jinshi.
As soon as she arrived, she fell in love with the small house that Jiang Youtao and her friends lived in. Although she hadn't gone in yet, she could tell from the outside that it had a good layout.
Another educated youth from Ganzhou, named Deng Shuangshuang, said: "Yunan is right. They don't live here anymore, but they are still occupying the position. Isn't that bad?"
Li Yunying had anticipated this scene: "Comrade Lu, Comrade Deng, they built their house with their own money. If you also want to live alone, go find the team leader to approve the land for you and build it yourself."
Jiang Youtao opened the lid of the big pot and skimmed the blood foam that was floating in the pot: "Sister Yunying is right, if you want to live well, you should build it with your own money. If you don't want to build it, just shut up. You want to rob our house without knowing anything, how dare you do that?"
Zhao Yonglan leaned against the wall and laughed out loud.
Lu Yunan and the other man were looked at like monkeys and their faces turned red instantly.
Lu Yunan glared at Jiang Youtao fiercely, picked up her luggage and rushed to Zhao Yonglan's room, pushing Zhao Yonglan aside. Zhao Yonglan didn't tolerate her and pushed her directly.
The humiliated Lv Yunan collapsed and sat on the ground crying: "I'm going to tell my brother Rongguang and ask him to beat you to death."
As soon as Lu Yunan said this, Zhao Yonglan, who had already taken two steps towards Jiang Youtao and the others, turned around and asked, "Do you know Zhao Rongguang?"
Lu Yunan wiped her tears and stood up: "Are you scared? Let me tell you, Zhao Rongguang is my fiancé. We grew up together and are a perfect match. My family agreed to our marriage!"
Zhao Yonglan looked at Lu Yunan, who was crying for a long time, then snorted and walked into Jiang Youtao's room.
Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei looked at each other, and then Jiang Youtao walked to Zhao Yonglan's side: "Yonglan, are you okay?"
Zhao Yonglan didn't cry, but her expression didn't look very good.
She said, "It's good."
"Zhao Rongguang and I haven't really reached that stage. After he moved to the county town, he came back only on the weekend of the first week. He never came back afterwards. I wrote to Zhang Huihui and Liu Yingjun to ask about it. Zhang Huihui said that Zhao Rongguang has been getting close to the workshop director's daughter recently."
"Actually, think about it, Zhao Rongguang and I didn't communicate much. It was only on the night when Xu Song set the fire that I bumped into Zhao Rongguang. He treated me differently after that. I thought about it carefully. We were not in love. It was just a temporary affection. Once we stopped getting along, the affection faded and I no longer had any feelings for this person."
Zhao Yonglan has been thinking about this matter for the past month.
From Su Zhengtang to Zhao Rongguang, none of them were good people, but a small action of theirs could cause ripples in her heart.
She thought about it for a long time and finally figured it out: "I was just lonely in the countryside, and when I saw a similar man who treated me well, I couldn't help it. I decided never to have this kind of damn relationship again. I will study hard, and if I can really recover, I will be admitted to a school with more men. After I have experienced a lot, let alone men, even if God is in front of me, I will not be moved."
Being ambiguous with men can make people feel intoxicated. Zhao Yonglan decided to be ambiguous with more people in the future so that she would not feel uncomfortable.
Everyone in the room was silent. Were they witnessing a love-brained moment of Aquaman?
Before Jiang Youtao could say anything, Xu Dazui came. She went straight into Jiang Youtao's room, sat on the kang, and started talking to Jiang Youtao about the gossip in the village over the past month. She had been storing it up for a month, and if she didn't talk to Jiang Youtao about it, she would suffocate to death.
"Lin Lao Zhuang is getting married, and he is marrying the widow at the entrance of our village. His son and daughter-in-law disagreed, so he just rolled up his bedding and went to the widow Liu's house."
"Lin Jianzhong was arrested two days ago. He was said to be engaged in speculation and profiteering. Our village was investigated by the higher-ups. We didn't get any information in advance. Manqiu's uncle's family hid a vase from the Tang Dynasty . The couple was taken away."
"Now Xu Laosan is the only one left in the Xu family. Xu Laosan's wife has kicked him out and is living in the same room as Xu Baozhu before, saying that they want to live separately."
"And Su Yang. He stole a woman from Lin's store, and her husband chased him to the commune and beat him up. One of his legs was broken, and he lost his job at the grain station."
"Su Zhengtang married his master's daughter. Zhu Yuemei was very nervous during this period. But two days ago, Su Zhengtang brought his wife back to the village and she never dared to do it again. My goodness, her eyes bulged out like a frog, and her teeth were bucktoothed. She didn't even need a cow to plow the land. She could just go to the field and open her mouth for me to watch."
"She's very arrogant. As soon as she enters the village, she complains about everything that's not good here and there that's dirty. If you don't know her, you might think she's a princess from some royal family. Maybe she's just pretending."
After saying this, Xu Dazui became worried again: "Your uncle Manzhu said that we have to wait for another batch of educated youth to come here. It's not a good idea to leave your room empty like this. You have to make plans early. This batch of educated youth are all good, but who can guarantee who will be the next batch and the next batch?"
After Xu Dazui finished speaking in a hurry, she felt relaxed all over. She was about to leave. Just as she walked out the door, a girl in a red floral cotton jacket walked in.
Xu Dazui slapped her thigh and said, "I almost forgot to tell you that my niece is here too. She will work at the agricultural science station in the commune. Please take good care of her in the commune."
"Xiaoxi, come here. This is the Jiang Zhiqing I told you about. Her name is Jiang Youtao. This is Gu Zhiqing, her name is Gu Nianwei."
"Her name is Zhong Qianxi, you two should get to know each other."
Zhong Qianxi walked towards them, and the notification sound of the melon-eating system followed.
[ Ding ~~ The heroine of "The Female General's Sickly Little Husband of the 1970s" Zhong Qianxi has been detected, and the plot is being introduced...]
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Jiang Youtao was silent about this name.
She could understand the female general, as there were female generals in ancient times, but the sickly little husband was a joke!
She could understand what a little wife was like, but Jiang Youtao could never imagine what a little husband was like.
Have readers' preferences for articles and authors' writing angles become so eccentric these days?